A blast has hit a Shia Muslim religious procession, killing 14 people and wounding 20 others, in Pakistan's central Punjab province, local police say.
The explosion hit the gathering in Rahim Yar Khan district where Shias were marking the 40th day of mourning of the death of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson Imam Hussain.
"Fourteen people have been killed and 20 more injured," Suhail Zafar, a senior police official, told Pakistan's private Geo TV channel.
The injured have been taken to local hospitals, he said.
Another police officer told the Associated Press news agency that a crowd of mourners started throwing rocks at police after the blast. Police officers had to lob tear-gas canisters into the crowd to control them.
The processions of Shia Muslims, who make up about 20 per cent of Pakistan's population, are often attacked by armed Sunni Muslim groups who consider them apostates of Islam.
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